Bank Levy: How Judgment Creditors Reach a Debtor's Account

Names and forms change from state to state, but the sequence is close to the same everywhere. Each step below cites the state source that states it.

1. The money judgment becomes enforceable. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 657, for example, treats a judgment as final for garnishment from the date it is signed unless a supersedeas bond has been approved and filed.
2. The creditor gets the enforcement paper. In California that is a Writ of Execution on form EJ-130; the California Courts bank levy guide says the sheriff cannot levy a bank account without it. In New York the clerk or the creditor's attorney issues an execution under CPLR 5230(b). Texas and Florida use a writ of garnishment.
3. The paper is served on the named bank. The bank becomes the garnishee. Where it must be served matters: California directs creditors to the branch office that accepts levy papers, and Texas requires the registered-agent address a bank has filed with the secretary of state, for a bank that has filed one.
4. The bank screens, freezes and answers. It runs the federal benefit review first, then holds non-exempt funds and reports to the officer or the court on the deadline its state sets.
5. The debtor is notified and may claim exemptions. Every state on this page requires notice to the debtor and gives a window to claim exempt funds.
6. The funds are released or a judgment is entered against the garnishee. New York's garnishee pays the sheriff under CPLR 5232(a); Texas and Florida courts enter judgment against the bank for what it holds, under Rule 668 and Fla. Stat. 77.083.

Here is how four states handle each stage:

California. The self-help bank levy guide calls the levy a one-time action: the bank freezes the money in the account, and trying again later takes another levy. Banks with 10 or more branches must designate one office for levy papers, and the levy is done in the county where that office sits. In personal debt cases the sheriff will not serve without a Declaration of Address Verification (form WG-015/EJ-135). The Notice of Levy, EJ-150, tells the bank to protect a set amount automatically under Code of Civil Procedure 704.220, except on judgments for wages owed, child or spousal support, or a liability to the state; the amount itself is published on form EJ-156. For the writ in detail, see our writ of execution guide.

New York. A restraining notice may be issued by the clerk or by the judgment creditor's attorney under CPLR 5222(a). Once served, it forbids the bank to transfer or interfere with the debtor's property, and it lasts one year after service or until the judgment is satisfied or vacated, whichever comes first. Serving a second restraining notice on the same bank for the same judgment requires leave of court. The levy itself is the execution: under CPLR 5232(a) the bank must transfer the property to the sheriff, and the levy lapses after 90 days except as to funds already transferred or covered by a turnover proceeding, unless the court extends it. Subdivision (e) shields a set amount where statutorily exempt payments were directly deposited in the 45 days before the execution was served on the bank.

Texas. After judgment, Civil Practice and Remedies Code 63.001(3) makes a writ of garnishment available when the creditor swears that, within its knowledge, the debtor does not possess property in Texas subject to execution sufficient to satisfy the judgment. The clerk issues it under 63.002, and under 63.003 the bank may not pay any debt or deliver any effects to the debtor once served. The Texas Rules of Civil Procedure supply the rest: Rule 659 sets the return date for the bank's sworn answer (the Monday after 20 days from service, in district or county court), Rule 663a requires prompt service of the writ and papers on the debtor, and Rule 679b bars any distribution to the creditor within 14 days after the exemption notice is served, or 17 days if it was mailed.

Florida. Fla. Stat. 77.01 gives every judgment holder a right to garnish debts and property a third person holds for the debtor. Under 77.03 the creditor files an unverified motion stating the judgment amount. The writ directs the bank to answer within 20 days under 77.04, and section 77.06(2) has it report and retain any deposit or account it controls. When the debtor is an individual, 77.041(2) has the creditor mail the writ, the motion and the Notice to Defendant within 5 business days after issuance or 3 business days after service on the bank, whichever is later.

Yes: 31 CFR Part 212 protects federal benefits directly deposited during a two-month lookback period. Within 2 business days of receiving a garnishment order, the bank reviews the account; if Social Security, VA, OPM or Railroad Retirement benefits arrived in that window, the protected amount stays fully available to the account holder, without any exemption claim.

The Treasury rule works mechanically, which matters for a creditor estimating what a levy will collect:

• Who it covers. Accounts of a natural person against whom the order is issued. "Garnishment" in the rule includes execution, levy, attachment and other legal process (31 CFR 212.3).
• The lookback. The two-month period ending on the day before the account review (212.3). The protected amount is the lesser of the benefit payments posted in that period or the balance on the day of review.
• Order of operations. The bank performs the review before taking any other action on the order that may affect the funds, and separately for each account (212.5(e), (f)).
• Funds above the protected amount. The bank follows its customary procedures, including freezing them (212.6(d)).
• No rolling freeze. The bank may not continue to garnish deposits made after the review unless it is served with a new or different order (212.6(g)), and it must send the account holder a notice within 3 business days of the review (212.7(f)).
• The exception. If the United States or a state child support agency attaches a Notice of Right to Garnish Federal Benefits, the bank handles the order under its customary procedures instead (212.4).

Under 15 U.S.C. 1673, wage garnishment takes a capped share of each paycheck from the employer: outside support, bankruptcy and tax orders, the lesser of 25 percent of weekly disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. A bank levy takes non-exempt money already on deposit at the bank that is served.

The two are complements rather than substitutes, and a creditor who knows both the employer and the bank can use both. Our wage garnishment asset search page covers the employer side.

Florida's section 77.041(3) dissolves the writ automatically if the creditor files no sworn answer to a debtor's exemption claim within 8 business days of hand delivery, or 14 business days if the claim was mailed. In Texas and California the money under a pending claim is not released to the creditor until the claim is decided.

Exemptions are a matter for the debtor to raise and the court to decide, but a creditor who knows the categories can judge in advance whether an account is worth levying. In general terms:

• Florida. The statutory claim form in 77.041(1) lists categories including head of family wages, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, public assistance, workers' compensation, reemployment assistance, veterans' benefits, retirement and pension money, life insurance and annuity proceeds, and disability income. If an objection is filed, the clerk sets a hearing.
• Texas. Under Rule 679b(c), a Protected Property Claim Form triggers a hearing, the officer may not distribute the property until the court rules, and the debtor carries the burden of proving the exemption.
• California. EJ-150 lists the automatic deposit account protection and other automatic exemptions, such as directly deposited Social Security or public benefits under Code of Civil Procedure 704.080; anything else is claimed on form EJ-160. The self-help guide says the sheriff holds the money until the exemption deadline passes with no active claim.
• New York. The exemption notice and claim forms travel with the execution under CPLR 5232(g), and the bank may not transfer the funds for at least 27 days.

An account fed only by exempt deposits can return nothing after fees and effort. That is one reason the account's source of funds, and the debtor's other assets, are worth knowing before the paper is filed.

Every procedure above starts with a named garnishee. California sends the creditor to the specific office that takes levy papers; Texas makes service ineffective at the wrong address; New York and Florida serve the execution or writ on a particular bank. A creditor who does not know where the debtor banks has nothing to serve. There are lawful ways to find out, and one unlawful shortcut to refuse.

• Lender relationships in the public record. A recorded mortgage or deed of trust names the lender, and a UCC financing statement must give the name of the secured party under UCC 9-502. Tax and judgment liens, litigation and business filings fill in the rest of the picture. A lender is a lead, not proof of a deposit account.
• Post-judgment discovery. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 69(a)(2) lets the judgment creditor obtain discovery from any person, including the judgment debtor, in aid of the judgment or execution. Interrogatories, a debtor examination and subpoenas to a named institution turn a likely bank into a confirmed one.
• Never account numbers or balances. Under 15 U.S.C. 6821(a), obtaining a bank customer's information by false statements to the bank or the customer, or with a forged or fraudulently obtained document, is prohibited, and 6821(b) reaches the person who asks someone else to do it. We never sell bank account numbers, balances or transaction history, at any price; our bank account asset search page explains the statute and the question to ask any firm that offers them.

Where the $295 Creditor-Status Profile fits. It is a nationwide asset search for judgment creditors with a permissible purpose. It covers real estate with mortgage positions, equity estimates and deed history; vehicle, watercraft and aircraft registrations; business entities and officer positions; UCC filings; tax and judgment liens; litigation and bankruptcy; and property transfer analysis. The mortgage positions and UCC filings show which lenders the debtor deals with, which is where a subpoena or a levy can be aimed, and the rest of the report shows what else can be reached if the account turns out to be empty or exempt. Delivered in 1 to 5 days. For the full method of tracing a debtor's banks, read how creditors find bank accounts and finding a judgment debtor's bank account.

• It does not prepare, file or serve a levy. The creditor or its attorney, the court clerk and the levying officer handle the writ or execution.
• It does not return account numbers, balances or transaction history. Those are reached only through court process aimed at a named bank.
• It does not contact the bank or the debtor. The subject is never contacted.
• It does not give legal advice. Which exemptions apply and which deadline governs are questions for your attorney or the court.
• It does not promise a recovery. A report shows what the records show on the date of the search; whether a levy pays depends on exemptions, the balance and the debtor.

Sources opened for this page on October 23, 2026: 31 CFR Part 212 at eCFR; Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 69, 15 U.S.C. 6821, 15 U.S.C. 1673 and UCC 9-502 at the Legal Information Institute; the California Courts bank levy guide and Judicial Council forms EJ-150 (Rev. July 1, 2026) and AT-167/EJ-152; New York CPLR 5222, 5230 and 5232; Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 63, Finance Code 59.008 and the Rules of Civil Procedure 657 to 679b; and Florida Statutes chapter 77 (2025). More on the firm is on the about U.S. Asset Records page.

Published October 23, 2026 by U.S. Asset Records. Prices and delivery times on this page are current as of that date. This page explains public law for judgment creditors; it is not legal advice.

Levy Questions From Creditors

Name the Bank Before You Serve the Levy

The $295 Creditor-Status Profile documents the debtor's mortgage lenders, UCC secured parties, real estate, vehicles, business interests and recorded liens across all 50 states, delivered in 1 to 5 days.